Pan: The Fearless Beribolt

July 6, 2014

Pan: TheFearless Beribolt is such a rich and character driven well-told story. We really enjoyed reading about Pandora as she ventured into new lands and adventures. I think you will find this will quickly become a favorite in your household. This is absolutely one of my favorites storybook apps I have reviewed. ove this!

So off their go on their first field trip below with their elders who are taking the class to Nightbug Falls. There was only one rule for the day – don’t touch the plants. But of course, Pandora couldn’t resist and we are told to touch the lilies to release the night bugs. Once we do that – the entire screen fills up with bright nightbugs. Pandora touches the leaves and a big scary plant comes out of the leaves and picks up her friend, Phil. But Pandora thinks quick on her feet and hands the plant her ice cream instead. A fair trade I think! The names of her friends are pretty funny. We have Phil, Hank (who comments in the background about how many rocks he can lift), and a cute little pink Panda who talks about how she wants to dye her hair the color of the lake. The quality of Pan: The Fearless Beribolt is really impressive and the story is quite funny in many places. You know, the kind of jokes you see in kid movies that the kids don’t really get but the parents enjoy. Very clever indeed. Even the voices of her friends are funny – some of them talk like the crew out of Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

You have the option to turn the narration on or off, and the story is highlighted as it is read. A nice feature for early readers. There is even a photo booth which has a choice of eight backgrounds. In one we find Pandora holding a mustache over her face and we arrange our face to have a moustache as well and snap the picture. We can even share it with our friends and family. My daughter and I had a blast with this feature. There are many activities we get to see Pandora do and help her with. She loved the magic boomerangs that were passed down through the elders. And after many weeks of asking, Elder Ojo finally made her a practice boomerang. We are told to swipe to throw the boomerang. It hits a group of clouds and comes right back to Pandora’s hands. I would say she is a natural! The animations really add to the story. Such as the fire that crackles and pops when you touch it during story time.

Fast forward to the future and we see Pandora having fun with her friends on the clouds and talking about what their parents and grandparents got them for the upcoming field trip. I laughed when Pan (short for Pandora) tells her friends that her grandpa got her socks and mimics her grandpa saying he got me socks, “they are sooo functional…” Isn’t that just what a grandpa might say when giving a gift of socks to a young girl? When you touch the purple or pink clouds it rains snacks such as strawberries, cupcakes and ice cream cones. Sounds like any kids fantasy – treats falling from the sky onto their laps! When you drag the food to Pandora’s mouth she munches on them saying “yum, yum, yum”.

Wow! I am impressed with the Pan: The Fearless Beribolt storybook app from Hullabalu. Pan: The Fearless Beribolt features an adorable purple panda named Pandora. The developer sent me an email claiming that Penelope the Purple Pirate would most definitely be friends with Pandora the Purple Panda. I think she is quite correct in that observation as they both like to have fun and be adventurous! The first page opens up and we see Pandora inside a puffy cloud floating in the sky telling us to tap on the screen to get started. Once we tap on the screen, she yells “Let’s Go!” The narrator tells us the back story of Pandora and the Beribolts tribe who called the clouds their home. We are told: When an ancient force began to darken the winds, the tribe sent their most capable elders to investigate. The storm soon calmed but the two never returned. They left behind their daughter and it would be many moons before she would learn the truth. This story is told in a ominous voice that immediately draws you into the story.

Recommended.

This app has been thoroughly evaluated by our staff. Please click on the 'star ratings' tab above, to see how it fared in all nine of our rating categories. See synopsis tab for more details about the storyline.

This review was originally published on July 20, 2013. MelissaNorthway.com was founded by Melissa Northway, an author who created her first book app, Penelope the Purple Pirate, in 2011.

Melissa's site provides app and book reviews as well as featuring individuals, companies and products in the tech & book industry. She is not only a children's picture book author, but she's also a mom and was voted as a 2013 Circle of Moms' Top 25 Tech Moms. She also provides reviews on her fabulous lifestyle website www.dandelionmoms.com.

All reviews are of the app, not the platform/device. Based originally on iPad versions. Minor technical details may vary.

Story Synopsis - Pan: The Fearless Beribolt

Join Pan on her epic adventure in the first installment of the best-selling, original, interactive book series. Journey with Pan as she explores the fun, magical, and unpredictable world of Hullabalu. Pan: the Fearless Beribolt is the first book in the Pan Adventure Series, introducing Pandora “Pan” Beribolt, a young purple panda living with her grandfather in the clouds. She learns of a secret and begins her journey to discover the truth. [Source: iTunes]

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